You Were Always My Favorite
by erin-dilaurentis
Summary: A collection of all the Emison oneshots written on my tumblr. Decided to put them up here for the fanfic. net audience!
1. Chapter 1

**_Pepe Farts_**

* * *

They had just finished eating dinner. Emily had insisted on cooking tonight. To which, of course, Ali was terrified. She loved her girlfriend, more than anything, but whenever Emily said that she wanted to make dinner, Ali had this vision of pots and pans on fire constantly running through her mind. She'd usually been able to talk Emily out of it and them go out instead, but tonight Emily was persistent and she wasn't going to give in.

Much to Alison's surprised, the house smelled amazing when she walked through the door that night. She could smell the food that Emily was cooking all throughout the house, her mouth watering the second she walked into the kitchen. They had a quiet, romantic dinner for two outside at their lawn table, gazing up at the stars while making conversation between them.

Once they were finished, Ali insisted on cleaning up the dishes. But of course, Emily was having none of it, "I cooked this amazing dinner for you so I could spoil you. You really think I'm gonna let you wash the dishes? Nice try," Emily said, handing her girlfriend a glass of wine and shoving her towards the living room, "I'll come in when I'm done."

Ali quickly pressed a kiss to the brunette's lips and gladly took the glass of wine, "Okay, yell if you need any help."

"Don't I always?" Emily asked in a sultry voice, and threw a wink over her shoulder that made Alison laugh so hard it rung throughout the whole house, a sound Emily loved to hear.

Ali bounded over to the couch, flopping down on the cushions with a sigh, and put her tired feet up on the coffee table. She took a look around the living room, taking in all of the new pictures that have since been added since Emily moved in with her. She was quite proud of the little life that her and Emily were building together, something she'd been dreaming of since she was that 13 year old girl in the picture over their fireplace.

She took another sip from her glass and let her head fall back against the back of the couch, content within this moment. She shut her eyes and started envisioning the pitter-patter of little feet running through this place one day, with toys in every inch of the house.

Just as she was mentally designing the nursery, she felt warm, soft lips press against hers. She smiled and opened her eyes as Emily sat next to Ali, reaching over to grab one of Ali's hands in both of hers.

"Hi," Emily said, moving to tuck a chunk of hair behind Ali's ear.

"Hi babe," Ali said, giggling as she saw Emily's face light up at the endearment. After a moment Ali spoke up again, "So let me ask you a question."

"Anything."

"Why were you so adamant about tonight? I mean the dinner, which was amazing by the way, thank you. The eating outside under the stars, the wine, not letting me lift a finger. Believe me, I'm not complaining. Why was it so important that I be so spoiled?"

"I don't know," Emily said, "I just know that you've never really had good relationships, and certainly never had someone who went all out for you. You just deserve to be spoiled and taken care of. You're someone who's worth going all out for."

Ali reached for Emily, knowing words would fail her now. She pulled Emily's lips towards hers and hoped that her kiss would convey what words couldn't. As they deepened the kiss, and started to lay back on the couch, the world was becoming a blur around them.

Until…

Emily was the first to pull away, Ali's eyes immediately shooting up towards hers.

"Do you smell that?"

"Yeah, I do," Ali stared, "Em, did you-?"

"No! Did you?" Emily asked, starting to giggle.

"No way."

They turned their gaze to the floor, where Pepe was laying down, facing their bedroom, tail wagging proudly.

Ali laughed and looked back up into Emily's eyes, "Just ignore it, it'll go away."

Emily laughed in return and lowered herself to Ali once again.

But this time, Ali pulled away, and started laughing "I'm sorry, Em. I just can't. It's so bad."

Emily flopped her head on Ali's shoulder and turned her face into her neck, laughing as well, "It's SO bad!"

They laughed so hard their stomachs hurt and they had tears rolling down their cheeks.

"So much for this mood I was trying to create. Come on Pep, we talked about this."

Ali laughed once again and kissed Emily on the cheek.

"Alright, bud, you win. What do you say? Wanna go on a walk with your mommies?"

Pepe immediately perked up and walked over to the door, sitting patiently for Emily to put on his leash. Ali grabbed her keys and held the door open for her girlfriend and their dog. Emily quickly leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss to Alison's lips.

"Later," Emily whispered.

"I'll make it up to you," Ali said, as she shut the door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Emison Is Expecting Child #3**_

* * *

We've all heard the saying that two's a party and three's a crowd, but Emily and Alison DiLaurentis-Fields will tell you any day of the week that that isn't true. Never in both of their wildest dreams did they even think that they would have one child together, but when they were blessed with a set of beautiful twin girls, they were ecstatic.

But…

When Emily came home to her beautiful wife and daughters one day to find Grace and Lily wearing matching "Best Big Sister" t-shirts, Emily and Alison were through the roof. Their little family was growing by the minute and the both of them realized that they were getting everything they ever wanted. They were building the perfect family, and better yet, they were building it with the love of their life.

So when it came time for the discussion of whether or not they wanted to figure out the sex of the baby, they both immediately knew that they didn't want to find out until Alison gave birth. When Alison was pregnant with the girls, her and Emily were both so excited that they just had to know, especially when they had to plan for buying two of everything. But this time around, they wanted to be surprised. It didn't matter to them whether the baby was a boy or a girl, as long as they were healthy, that's all that mattered.

But that didn't stop Emily and Ali from having a wife-on-wife bet about it. Emily was dead set on the fact that they would be having another girl, she just kept saying that she had a feeling. But Ali on the other hand, knew that this pregnancy was completely different then when she had the girls. This time, her hormones were all out of whack, she had ridiculous food cravings, and she just overall felt differently. She was positive she'd be having a boy.

Grace and Lily, of course, had their own little bet going. The two 4 year olds were carbon copies of their moms. Their previously blonde hair, began turning a soft brunette when they turned 2 and their athleticism showed the second they could walk. But they had all of Alison's confidence and attitude, well maybe not all of it.

Little Gracie agreed with her mommy, saying she "wanted a wittle bruver," and she wasn't going to accept anything differently. She was so adamant about it that whenever they went to the store and Ali and Emily let each of them pick out one thing for their new little brother or sister, Grace immediately went to the boys section.

Lily, on the other hand, took the side of her mama, saying that having 5 girls was good luck. And every night, when Ali and Emily tucked the girls into bed, Lily always said "good night to Mommy, Mama, Gracie and little sister." To which, of course, Grace rolled her eyes and corrected it to "brother."

When it came to the time of discussing names, Ali and Emily really wanted to keep open the idea of a gender neutral name, as well as pulling out a few gender specific ones just to keep in the back of their minds. Soon, they had a list a mile long on their refrigerator blackboard of all the names they loved, new ones being added every day. At the top were names like Taylor, Avery, Bailey, and Dylan. And who could forget Grace's suggestion of "Joey" after her favorite teddy bear, and Lily's suggestion of "Emma" because "it just sounds pretty."

Before they knew it, the nursery was painted a light grey color, with white wood furniture to match. Ali had insisted on a nursery tale theme, and had an artist friend of Aria's come in to paint different characters and quotes all over the place. Everything was falling into place, and all that was missing was a beautiful baby to wake up there every morning.

And when Alison went into labor and was rushed to the hospital at 3 am one evening, her and Emily could hardly wait to get their hands on their baby. All through Alison's contractions and being wheeled to a delivery room, with Emily's hand in hers, they ran through their name list a hundred times, trying to finally narrow it down to just a few.

But when the nurse handed Emily their baby, adorned in a blue hat and matching blanket, Alison knew that there was only one name that would really fit.

Emily carefully handed the baby to Alison, who was ready with open arms, and climbed into bed next to her beautiful wife and her new son. "We have a boy," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I know," Alison said, wiping her own tears as she relaxed into Emily's embrace, "Are you happy? I know you thought I was having another girl."

"Are you kidding?" Emily said, a smile breaking out on her face, "He's absolutely perfect. I wouldn't want anyone else but him."

"I love you."

"I love you more."

They sat there for a moment, sharing sweet kisses between them and taking in every detail of their beautiful son, who had his whole hand wrapped around Emily's pinkie.

"So," Emily broke the silence, "I guess we should finally decide on a name for this little guy, huh?"

"Oh," Alison spoke up, "he's already got a name."

"Oh, really?" Emily laughed, moving the hair from Alison's face and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Yeah, the second I saw his face, I knew. He always already had a name."

"Well, would you like to share with your wife or are you gonna keep that a secret for forever?" Emily laughed again, "What's his name?"

Alison took a moment to stare up at her beautiful wife, the girl she'd been in love with for almost half her life. She knew what his name would be from the start.

She leaned up and pressed a small but lingering kiss to Emily's lips, pulling away slowly and waiting until Emily's eyes met hers.

"Wayne," she whispered.

Emily's eyes filled with tears once again and that smile that Alison loved oh so much returned, this time bigger and brighter than Alison had ever seen. Alison carefully placed the baby in Emily's arms, and pressed a small kiss to his forehead.

"Hi Wayne," Emily said, her voice cracking ever so slightly, "Welcome to the family."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Grace & Lily Meet Their Baby Brother**_

* * *

A few hours later, a soft orange light was flooding in through the large windows in the light beige room, casting an angelic glow over the 3 figures in the room. Alison, of course, hadn't slept in hours, the buzz of just having a baby still hadn't worn off and she was so excited she felt like she could run a marathon. And she probably would if her doctor didn't have her on bed rest for the next 24 hours.

She quickly tore her eyes away from the gorgeous sunrise outside her window to glance at the tiny human, all bundled up in blue, laying in a bassinet not a foot from her bed. She turned on her side and gently reached over to trace his smooth face with her fingertip, careful not to stir him from his sleep. Her heart fluttered when she saw a faint smile pull at the edges of his mouth as he quickly drifted back to whatever he was dreaming about.

Tearing her eyes away from this perfect human, she turned to stare at yet another perfect human. Next to the bassinet, her wife was fast asleep in probably the most uncomfortable chair Alison had ever seen. Emily, who had refused to leave either her wife or her newborn baby boy that evening, had tried her hardest to stay up with Alison, but the night's events proved to be too much for her already tired being to handle.

Alison couldn't help the silent tears that rolled down her face at the thought of the life that her and Emily built together, a life that Alison hoped would never stop growing. Alison didn't know how it was possible, but every single day she'd find reasons to fall in love with Emily all over again. And she knew in her soul that that would never stop. She never imagined when she was a teenager, stealing silent kisses from Emily when no one was looking, and denying to everyone and even herself that her heart belonged to her best friend, that they'd ever be here. That they'd be at a place in their lives where Alison finally admitted to herself and to Emily all that she was feeling, that they'd be happily married, with three unbelievably beautiful and perfect children. Alison kept waiting for someone to pinch her. But, she did know that if this was in fact just one big dream, she prayed that she would never wake up from it.

Before she knew it, a couple of more hours had passed, and soon that soft orange light had turned into the white light that alerted her the day was happening all around her. Just as she was repositioning herself to sitting up for the nurse that would no doubt be coming in soon, she heard a soft knocking at the door, followed by footsteps. Alison quickly turned and saw Spencer peeking through the small opening she created.

"Hi, how you feeling?" Spencer asked, careful to be quiet as not to wake the sleeping baby and her sleeping best friend.

"Hi," Alison said brightly, her and Spencer had gotten quite close in the past years, they really had become family to each other, "I'm feeling really good."

"Good enough for some company?" Spencer asked, a huge smile spreading out on her face as she opened the door wider to reveal two small brunettes, with teddy's in hands, smiles breaking out on their small faces as they saw their mommy.

"Hi girls!" Alison said, a huge grin on her face as they climbed up onto the bed next to Alison.

"Careful girls," Spencer said, as she quickly pressed a kiss to Alison's cheek and went over to the bassinet to fawn over the sweet baby boy.

"Mommy," Grace spoke up, "Can we hug you?"

Alison quickly reached for her girls, "You better!"

The two brunettes quickly crawled into Alison's arms and squeezed tight, but Lily was the first to pull away.

"Mommy, can I meet my little sister now?" Lily asked.

"Brother," Gracie corrected. Alison couldn't help but chuckle when she saw Lily stick her tongue out in response.

"Well, why don't you go wake up your mama and we'll find out."

Grace hung on tight to Alison as Lily carefully climbed down off the bed and perched herself on Emily's lap. Emily, of course, being the heavy sleeper that she was, didn't stir. So Lily reached up, and not so gently, shook her mama's shoulders. Emily quickly stirred out of her sleep and looked down to see the tiny child staring up at her.

"Can you wake up?" Lily asked, "I need to show Gracie I was right about my sister."

"Well good morning to you too, sunshine," Emily said, as she grabbed hold of her little girl and started to tickle her. Emily quickly stopped and flopped Lily on the bed next to Alison and Grace.

She gave a quick hug to Spencer and picked up her son, who was now starting to softly cry from the bassinet. Once she got him to calm back down, she walked over to the bed and perched herself on the corner.

"Girls, meet your baby brother," she said, as she placed the baby in Alison's arms. The two girls stared at the little boy for a while, seemingly taking in every inch of him the same way their moms did just a few hours before.

"So I was right!" Grace exclaimed.

"Yes, Gracie you were right," Emily laughed.

"Well Lily? What do you say?" Alison asked, "We know you were hoping for another sister."

"That's okay, mommy. I like him better. I really just kept saying that to make Gracie mad."

Emily let out a chuckle and moved to pick up Lily, as she sat next to Alison on the bed, and plopped Lily in her lap.

"So," Spencer spoke up, "what's the little guys name?"

Grace and Lily looked up at their moms, excitement written all over their face.

"We decided to name him after someone very special," Alison said.

"His name is Wayne," Emily said, tears prickling at the sides of her eyes.

"Like mama's daddy?" Grace asked.

"Exactly," Alison answered.

"I like it," Lily said.

"Me too," Grace added.

"Me three," Spencer said as she pulled out her phone from her purse, "Let's get a picture of everyone!"

The group of 5 quickly posed as Spencer took the picture that would sit above their fireplace for many years to come.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Mrs. Dilaurentis as a Grandma**_

* * *

Emily was the first to wake up that morning, just like every morning. No matter how late she went to bed, or what activities her wife had her up to till all hours of the night, she was always the first one to wake up. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she turned over to look down upon her sleeping wife. Stealing a glance at the clock on her nightstand, it told her that it was half past 7am. The girls would, no doubt, be barging in any minute.

Emily slowly shifted and leaned up on her elbow, once again glancing down at the angelic blonde, her hair splayed out everywhere and in one of Emily's old t-shirts. No matter how many times a day she saw her wife, Alison always had a way of stealing Emily's breath away everyday when she first saw her in the morning.

She slowly reached over and moved the hair from out of Alison's face. Alison, of course, didn't stir. Emily moved to press small, soft kisses along Alison's now open neck. When she reached, Alison's lips, she felt lips pressing back against hers.

"Good morning," Emily said, as she felt Alison smile against her lips.

"Mmmmm, 5 more minutes babe, please," Alison begged, as she wrapped her arm around Emily's waist and pulled her closer.

"Believe me, I wish we could, but we have a lot to do before everyone gets here later," Emily leveled. But, of course, when she looked down to see Alison's small pout, she melted. Like always.

"Okay, 5 more minutes. But we have to be quiet," Emily said, as she laid back down.

They stayed like this for a few more minutes, sharing small kisses between them. But their eyes never left each other.

"Why do you keep staring at me?" Alison asked, a small laugh escaping her lips.

"Cause you're so beautiful in the morning," Emily said, a small smile pulling at the edges of her mouth.

"So you've been telling me for years," Alison laughed again, as she pulled Emily closer.

"We really should get up, the girls are gonna come barging in any minute." And the second Emily finished the sentence, they heard little feet stomping their way towards their bedroom.

"I swear you're psychic," Alison said. And in seconds, the two small brunettes barged in and made a b-line for the bed, jumping up and down.

"It's our birthday! It's our birthday!" They yelled.

Emily and Alison quickly made a dive for their daughters and pulled them close, sharing in one big hug.

"Happy birthday, my babies," Alison said, pressing tons of kisses to each of their cheeks.

"And you know what birthdays mean," Emily said, a sly smile gracing her face.

"BIRTHDAY TICKLES!" Emily and Alison yelled, in unison, grabbing hold of their already laughing daughters and tickling them till they were all breathless and laughing.

"Mommy?" Grace asked when she finally caught her breath, "How long till our party?"

"Everyone will start coming when the big hand is on the 12," Alison repeated, for the millionth time it seemed.

"That's so far!" Lily complained, dramatically flopping herself across Emily's lap.

"It'll be here before you both know it," Alison laughed.

"But until then," Emily spoke up, "There's still one more birthday tradition we can cross off our list!"

Grace and Lily immediately perked up, they looked at each other and yelled, "Mama's Birthday Pancakes!"

"I'll go get Wayne and meet you downstairs," Alison said as she pressed a quick kiss to Emily's lips.

Emily stood up and crossed over to her wife's side of the bed, waiting for the girls to stand up. When they did, she grabbed them both and flung them over both of her shoulders, "Let's go!"

Alison quickly got up and crossed into the nursery, where her son Wayne was already standing up in his crib, reaching for Alison the second he set eyes on her, "Hi big boy! Do you wanna go get some pancakes too?"

Moments later, the 5 were all downstairs, sat at the kitchen table sharing in Emily's very special banana chocolate chip pancakes with sprinkles that she only made on birthdays. Alison and Emily caught each other's eye, and they both knew they were thinking the same thing. This little family right here, was all their dreams come true.

And a few hours later, their house was filled with tons of people. A bunch of Grace and Lily's friends from preschool, and all their parents of course. As well as all of Emily and Ali's friends and family, with people filing into their home every couple of minutes.

Just as Emily was crossing into the kitchen to get chip refills, she heard the doorbell ring, "I got it!"

She opened the door to find her in-laws standing there, huge smiles on their faces and tons of presents in their arms. They did love to spoil their grandchildren.

"Hey!" Emily said, arms open to greet Kenneth and Jessica.

"Hi sweetie!" Jessica said, pressing a swift kiss to Emily's cheek.

"Where are the grandkids?" Kenneth asked, as he hung up his coat on the coat rack by the door.

"They're in the living room," Emily said, lending a hand with the abundance of packages.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad," Emily heard come from behind her as her wife came up to greet her parents.

"Hi honey," Kenneth said, giving a quick hug to his daughter before crossing into the living room.

"Hi darling, how are you?" Jessica said, reaching for her daughter. Emily watched fondly as they hung on to each other for a little longer than most would. Ever since Alison had the girls, her and her mom had gotten much closer. All of the history had been forgotten between them, they moved on, and the new relationship that they built together was stronger than ever.

"I'm good! I'm glad you and dad could fly in. Come on, the girls have been asking about you all day."

"I can't wait to see those little angels. And Wayne, of course. Has he been sleeping through the night?" Ali and her mom crossed into the living room, carrying their conversation. Emily watched fondly and smiled when she heard the eruption from the girls when they saw Jessica.

A few hours later, Emily found her wife watching fondly as her mom played with the girls, all the new toys they had gotten today in every corner of the living room. Little Wayne sat in her lap nursing a bottle. Most of the girls' friends had left, so it was just a quiet gathering of the family and of course, Aria, Spencer, and Hanna, and of course the boys, who were helping write up the list for the thank you cards in the dining room.

Ali quickly stepped into Emily's welcoming arms, both of them looking at the life they'd built together.

"Ali, can you believe our little girls are turned 5 today?" Emily broke the silence.

"It seems just like yesterday we found out there were gonna be two of them," Ali laughed.

"Oh my god, I felt like I was gonna throw up all day, and you were the one with the morning sickness."

"Mama," Emily heard Lily's voice from across the room, "Can Nanny read us our bedtime story tonight?"

"Of course, she can," Emily said, bending down to pick up Grace from the floor, "Come on girls, it's time for bed."

"But you promised we could stay up late," Gracie said, practically falling asleep on Emily's shoulder.

"And we did," Alison said, "Bedtime was an hour ago."

Jessica put Wayne in Alison's arms and reached down for Lily's already extended arms, "I'll make you girls a deal, I'll help mommy put Wayne to bed and then I'll read you two bedtime stories, how does that sound?"

Grace and Lily both nodded sleepily. They quickly said goodnight to the remaining guests who were leaving. Ali, Emily and Jessica, each with a child in their arms, made their way upstairs, glancing at the sleeping Kenneth on the couch. Emily took the girls to get changed and brush their teeth, so Jessica crossed into the light grey room that was Wayne's nursery, there she found Ali attempting to wriggle Wayne into a fresh onesie.

"Here, honey, let me. You've been running around all day, go sit."

Ali was grateful for the orders. She watched as her mom expertly had Wayne changed in a matter of minutes, Jessica softly humming to keep him calm. She'd become such a different person since Alison was a kid. Having her grandkids around really brought out the best in her.

"Good night, sweet boy," Jessica said as she softly lowered an already asleep Wayne into his crib.

"Thank you," Alison whispered as they left the room, making way to the twins' room.

"Anytime, sweetie, you know that. I love those kids."

"And they love you, you should really come around more often. We'd all love it," Alison said.

"Your dad and I have actually been talking about that, we want to move closer. With you and Emily here with the kids, and Jason moving up to New York, it really just makes sense for us to be closer."

"I'd love that," Ali said, giving her mom a quick hug.

"Me too."

They quickly entered into the twins' room to find both girls, already in bed, books on their laps.

"Hi girls," Jessica said, immediately sitting on the big rocking chair in the middle of the room, "Did you each pick out a book like I said?"

The girls nodded and held up their books, "Ooo good choices, girls. Let's start with this one, it was always my favorite."

Ali and Emily stood in the door way as they watched the girls listen intently to Jessica read, not daring to even close their eyes for a minute.

"Nanny," Lily said as Jessica finished the second book and moved to turn off the light, "Will you be here tomorrow with Grandpa when we wake up?"

"Yes sweetie, I will. And then you, me, Gracie, Wayne, your moms, and Grandpa are gonna all meet up with Grandma Pam for another little birthday celebration."

"Good," Gracie said, "We like when everyone's here."

"Me too. Good night girls," Jessica said as she pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads, not forgetting to kiss both Emily and Alison on the cheek to say goodnight.

Emily and Ali stood there for a little longer, looking fondly at their two little princesses fast asleep in their beds, turning to check on Wayne who was fast asleep in his crib before heading back to their room, hand in hand.

"Thank you for giving me the most beautiful family," Emily said when she kissed Alison good night.

"Thank you for loving me enough to trust me to give you one."

They kissed once more, but it was hardly for a good night.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Emison Date Night. Ali Gets Jealous.**_

* * *

Ali felt the butterflies in her stomach the minute she woke up that morning. "Today's the day," she thought to herself as she checked her suitcase to make sure she had everything for the 800th time. In a few hours she would be boarding a flight to California, and she couldn't be more excited.

It took months of headaches and planning, but Ali had finally managed to get everything sorted out so she could spend her Thanksgiving break out in California with Emily at Pepperdine. Emily's family was already planning on flying out and spending the weekend there with her anyway, so it really just made the most sense for Ali to accept their invitation to join. And no one had to ask her twice to go see her girlfriend.

After a few short hours, she was running to baggage claim as fast as her feet, and the weight of her carryon, would allow her. The sooner she got her bags, the sooner she could find the car that would be waiting for her outside the airport, and the sooner she'd be able to run into Emily's awaiting arms.

Emily insisted on going herself to pick up Ali from the airport, but Emily had a midterm that morning and there was no way Ali was going to let Emily focus on anything except that. She knew that soon enough she'd be there and they'd have the whole day to spend together before Emily's parents got in the following day.

Ali had spent the better part of a month planning for this night, it'd be their first time seeing each other since Emily left in late August, and Ali was pulling out all the stops. She'd made reservations, which were nearly impossible to get, at this new French restaurant near Emily's school, she'd packed her favorite black dress that was also Emily's favorite, and she knew that all of Emily's roommates already left so they'd have Emily's room all to themselves. This night was going to be perfect. And Emily and Ali couldn't wait.

xXx

Sitting across from each other, candlelight creating the mood, the night was already perfect. After a much needed reunion, they'd finally peeled themselves off of each other and made it to the restaurant. They were supposed to be figuring out what to order, but Emily couldn't focus on anything except for the stunning blonde that was sitting in front of her and how, after all their time together, Emily still didn't think Alison was real.

"Have you ladies figured out what you want to order?" They heard come from behind them. A tall, lanky redhead was walked up to their table with a pad in hand to take their order.

Ali ordered her meal and two more glasses of wine for them before turning to hand her menu to the waitress. The waitress wrote quickly and turned towards Emily, a smile spreading out on her face, a smile that Ali recognized all too well on someone, "And what'll you have, gorgeous?"

Ali immediately perked up, did someone else really just call her girlfriend pretty? "I don't think so," Alison thought to herself.

Emily started to blush, "I'll have what she's having."

The waitress took Emily's menu and left to put in their order. Emily turned her attention back to Ali, only to find her already staring intensely at her.

"What?" Emily asked.

"Nothing," Ali responded, and reached for Emily's hand. This was their night and she was gonna try her damnedest to not let something like this bother her. She was used to people flirting with Emily, it happened all the time. I mean look at her, she's perfect. But Ali couldn't help the part of her that usually wanted to rip the head off of whoever was daring to make a pass at her girlfriend.

Moments later, their food arrived. They made small conversation as they ate, talking about Emily's midterms, Ali filling Emily in on all the latest gossip in Rosewood, but mostly just enjoying being in each other's company. Something they haven't been able to have in so long.

Just as they were finishing up their deserts, the redheaded waitress came over to clear their plates.

"Can I get you ladies anything else?" she turned towards Emily, "I surely can't let a beautiful girl like you go home hungry."

Ali was dumbfounded. Was this girl really flirting with her girlfriend? Ali started making a mental list of all the ways she was gonna put this girls head through a wall.

Emily felt herself blush again. She quickly glanced over at Ali, who was staring so heatedly at the girl it was like she was trying to burn a whole in her head. Well, it's Ali, that's probably not far fetched.

Time for them to go.

"No, I think the check is just fine. Thanks."

"Sure thing, cutie." the waitress said, as brushed her hand up against Emily's as she left.

"Ali," Emily said carefully, practically feeling Ali's blood boil from across the table.

"I will end her."

"She's probably just trying to get a really good tip out of us. Babe, please, relax. This is supposed to be our night, don't let some waitress that we'll probably never see again ruin it."

Just as Emily was finishing her statement, the waitress swiftly left the check on the table, tossing a wink at Emily over her shoulder.

Ali felt tears spring to her eyes as she read the little note written on the back of their check. "Yeah,"

Ali said, turning to grab her purse, "definitely just a tip."

Before Emily could grab her, Ali was already out of sight, Emily quickly read the little note of, "If you ever wanna ditch the blonde, call me 065-8839."

Emily huffed and grabbed a pen, wrote out a not-so-nice little note of her own and threw money on the table before running after her girlfriend. But when Emily walked out of the restaurant, Ali was nowhere to be found.

Inside the restaurant, Ali was hunting down the girl who made a pass at her girlfriend. She felt her blood boiling, and she swore her head was going to explode. She slowly felt a familiar feeling of utter demise course through her veins. Before thinking better of herself, she barged into the kitchen at the back of the restaurant and soon her vision was filled with red hair and a smile that only could be described as someone who thought they'd just had a huge victory. This girl was in for a rude awakening.

"Yeah, I think that girl totally liked me, she was staring at me all night. I'm sure I'll be getting a call in about an hour," the girl bragged to her nearby friends.

"Then you better prepare yourself for a real disappointment," Ali spoke up from behind the girl.

The waitress spun around on her heels so fast she almost knocked into a nearby waiter on his way out.

Ali looked the girl up and down, "But I get the feeling you're already used to that."

"You're not supposed to be back here," the girl spit out.

"Yeah, see, I don't care. But what I do care about is the fact that you're obviously desperate enough to be practically throwing yourself at someone who is clearly already taken. That really has a lot to say about what you're love life must be like. That must be so embarrassing for you. I almost feel bad."

"Well, you'll be feeling really bad when your girlfriend is in my bed tonight."

Ali laughed out loud, "Is that really all you could come up with? Well, I really shouldn't be shocked. By your not so sly come ons you're clearly not one for creativity. Now I'm going to tell you this only once," Ali said, taking a step closer to the girl, "you try a little stunt like that again, and I swear you won't live to see another day." Ali let out a chuckle, "You may not know me, but where I'm from, I'm pretty notorious for putting people in their place. You ever come at my girlfriend again, and I promise, I will end you.

"Promises, promises," the girl bit back.

Ali spun on her heals and left the kitchen, she quickly turned back and blew a kiss over her shoulder. She quickly walked out of the restaurant, making sure to grab a business card on her way out and grab her phone from her purse.

This was how Emily found her a few minutes later, she finally caught her breath. She slowly made her way over to Alison, she knew to proceed with caution in situations like this.

Ali hung up her phone and shoved it back in her purse, too upset to look into Emily's eyes.

Emily wrapped her arms around Ali's waist and felt Ali relax against her. Ali felt tears spring to her eyes again and tried to pull away, but Emily only tightened her grip on her girlfriend.

"Talk to me," Emily said.

"I don't have anything to say," Ali said, moving to wipe at her eyes.

"Now I know that's not true," Emily said, trying her hardest to get Alison to even crack a smile.

"Does this happen a lot when I'm not here? Girls flirting with you, giving you their number at restaurants? I bet there's a ton," Ali said, finally tearing herself from Emily's grasp.

"No, there aren't. This isn't a thing that happens, Ali. Maybe once or twice but it's not like people don't flirt with you all the time when we're out."

Emily took a deep breath and took a step closer to Ali, wrapping her arms around Ali once again.

"I may have gone a little crazy on her," Ali said in a voice so quiet Emily wasn't even sure Ali had

spoken at all.

"How crazy?" Emily asked, eying her girlfriend. Alison quickly averted her eyes and Emily knew she already had her answer, "You went all Ali D. on her didn't you?"

"I just hate it. Things like this, people wanting to date you. And I hate even more that I can't be here every single time to set them straight. And I know I sound insane and like a child and it's not fair of me but-"

"No," Emily interrupted, "I get it. You honestly don't think that it doesn't drive me insane when there are at least 10 guys staring at you the second we walk in anywhere. Or when guys come up to you and want to buy you a drink? I wanna kill all of them. But none of it matters because I know that no matter what, it's you and me. And I also know that I love you, so much. So much that it doesn't matter if there's a million people staring at you because you're mine. And I'm yours, always. I love you more than I know how to comprehend. Ali, I promise you that my heart beats for you and only you. You are my future and I wanna marry you one day."

Ali's eyes immediately shot up towards Emily's, she's never said anything like this to Ali before, "What?"

"I want to marry you one day. I want to go places and I want to introduce you as my wife. I want to you to have the most beautiful wedding rings that you've ever seen and I never want to see you take them off. I want us to buy a house with a huge backyard, preferably with a pool for obvious reasons."

Ali giggled and shoved the hair from Emily's eyes.

Emily continued, "I want us to have 10 kids, little us's running around, and I want them to grow up in the most loving home with the most loving and supportive parents, where they never have to be scared of who they are or what they feel. I want us to be so in love that even when they're adults they'll still get grossed out. I want us to be that couple that everyone wishes they could be. I want us to grow old together. And I want to love you for the rest of my life."

Ali felt tears running down her cheeks, and only after Emily finished, did Ali realize she was crying too. She moved to wipe away the tears on Emily's cheeks, "If you asked me to marry you right now, I would say yes."

Emily broke out into a smile, tearing herself away to dig for something in her purse.

"Funny you say that. I was going to wait until Christmas to give this to you, but I think now's as good a time as any," Emily said, as she pulled out a little black box and handed it to Alison. Ali opened the box to find a diamond ring inside, it was a princess cut diamond with little diamonds incrusting it all around. Ali was breathless and she felt tears springing to her eyes once again. She carefully took it out and looked at the engraving on the inside of the band, "You're my happy ending."

"This," Emily said, taking the ring from Ali's fingers and placing it on her left ring finger, "is a promise to you. We have been together for so long, but I have loved you for as long as I can remember. And I know we may be a little young, but you have always been the person that I have wanted to spend my life with and I've known that since the first time I kissed you. This is a promise that I am forever yours, and that I will always love you. So, Alison Lauren DiLaurentis, how about forever?"

Ali quickly reached for Emily, their lips crashing together as the world became a blur around them.

They only pulled away when they were both dizzy and breathless.

"Yes," Ali whispered, "a million times yes."

Emily pulled Alison to her again and they stayed in this moment for a little longer, but both eventually decided that they should take the night back to Emily's dorm.

"So wait," Emily asked as they started the walk back to campus, "who were you on the phone with when you came out?"

"Oh, that," Ali said, wrapping her arm tighter around Emily's waist, "I was on the phone with the owner. She'll be getting fired tomorrow."

Emily burst out laughing and pressed a sweet kiss to Ali's lips, "I love you."

"I know," Ali said, turning her gaze to look at her the ring on her left hand. A promise of a forever with the love of her life? She couldn't wait.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Ultrasound Appointment**_

* * *

They were running late that morning, they ran late every morning now. Finally waking up wrapped in each other's arms every morning was something they'd never imagine. And they had to reaffirm every morning that it wasn't, in fact, all a dream.

But this morning, was not the morning to be running late. Alison was due at her OB/GYN at 10 am for her ultrasound. But with their long morning in bed, and Alison's increased morning sickness, getting out the door was near to impossible. Alison had been having more and more days like this, where her morning sickness was almost unbearable and even the thought of food had her running to their bathroom. Emily just chalked it up to the copious amounts of Indian food that Alison had now been consuming. Emily, of course, having to be the one to run all over town at strange hours of the night to nurse Alison in her newest craving.

But Emily didn't care about the middle of the night drives, or all the foot rubs she had to give Alison, or any of it. She was gonna be a mom, and she was building a family, and she was doing it with the love of her life. _That_ was all that mattered.

At 20 minutes to 10am, Emily had finally gotten Alison in the car and was hastily making her way into the city for their appointment. Alison nursing some saltines to try and settle her stomach.

"When did they say this stupid morning sickness would lighten up? I'd like to actually be able to keep a meal down sometime soon," Alison asked, taking slow deep breaths.

Emily let out a soft chuckle and reached for Alison's hand, "The second trimester, which is just in a few weeks."

"That's a lifetime away," Alison said, dramatically, knowing it would make Emily laugh. She'd do anything to make Emily laugh.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you look today?" Emily asked, stealing a glance over at Alison.

"Em, I'm ginormous," Alison said, subconsciously tugging at her shirt.

"You are not!" Emily said, giving Alison's hand a squeeze, "Maybe we're just having a boy."

"So you do think I'm huge?" Alison asked, painting on her best offended face.

"I didn't say that!" Emily started to defend herself.

Alison couldn't help but laugh, "Em, I'm kidding!"

Emily immediately snatched her hand away from Alison, "No, I'm mad at you now," she said jokingly when Ali tried to grab it back. But Emily soon let her hand fall back into Alison's, especially when she looked over and saw Alison pouting.

They rode the rest of the way in silence, making small talk whenever Alison felt up to speaking. Finally, with just a few minutes to spare, they walked into the waiting room.

"Hi," Emily said brightly to the receptionist, Alison's hand held tightly in hers, they always got nervous at these types of things. They weren't usually ones to be graced with much good luck, "We have an appointment with Dr. Mitchell."

"Okay," the perky receptionist said, "What's the name?"

"DiLaurentis," Emily answered.

"Okay, you ladies can go take a seat, she'll be with you in a moment."

"Hey," Emily spoke up once they sat down, she could tell that Ali was a little bit more on edge than usual, "are you okay?"

"You mean besides the feeling of my stomach turning inside out?" Alison bit out, she took another deep breath, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap."

"No," Emily said, putting her arm around Alison and pulling her closer, "it's okay. I know you've been feeling really shitty lately. I would take all that on for you in a minute if I could."

"I know," Ali asked, reaching over to press a small kiss to Emily's lips, "that's just one of the many reasons why I love you."

"I love you, too," Emily said, grinning like an idiot like she did every time Alison told her she loved her, "but really, what's on your mind?"

"I don't know, I guess I'm just a little nervous. I mean what if there's something wrong with the baby? I don't think this level of morning sickness is normal. And you and I don't really have the greatest track record of things going our way so-"

"Hey," Emily cut her off, "listen to me, everything is going to be fine. And I'm not just saying that. Your morning sickness is normal. The doctor said it might get really bad, especially because of your cravings. The baby," Emily paused and reached for Alison's hand once again, holding it in both of hers, "_Our_ baby is fine."

Alison just nodded in agreement, Emily always did have a knack at being able to calm Alison down. But she was still worried, she knew something was going on.

10 minutes later, Alison was laid out on the chair in the examination room, the cold gel on her stomach, Emily's hand in hers, and their doctor firing up the ultrasound machine.

"So," Dr. Mitchell started, "how are you two doing? Preparing yourself for being mommies?"

"We're doing the best we can," Emily said, jokingly.

"Nah, you two will be amazing parents," Dr. Mitchell reassured, "So Alison, this is just going to be a routine ultrasound, just going to look around and make sure the baby is doing okay and they're nice and comfortable, okay? Nothing to worry about. How have you been feeling recently?"

"Horrible," Alison laughed.

"Morning sickness been acting up?"

"Yeah, it's at its worst around 9am, and then I just feel nauseous throughout the day."

"That's all normal, it's going to be at it's worst now just before you go into your second trimester, than it'll be a breeze after that," Dr. Mitchell answered.

"You promise?" Alison asked, making the whole room laugh.

"Okay," Dr. Mitchell started, "Let's see what's going on in here."

Alison kept her eyes on Emily, she was always too nervous to look at the screen, not that she'd actually be able to make anything out on it anyway.

Dr. Mitchell was quiet for a while, which of course startled the mothers to be.

"Is everything okay?" Alison asked.

"Yeah, everything is fine. I'm just seeing a little spot here, which might be nothing so don't worry. I'm just gonna move over a little bit and see if I can get a better look."

Alison's eyes shot to Emily's immediately, worry written all over her face. Emily just held Alison's hand tighter, knowing that that was all she could really do right now.

"I thought so," Dr. Mitchell said to herself, turning to Alison and Emily with a smile, "Wipe those worried looks off your faces."

Emily immediately perked up, but Alison remained worried.

Dr. Mitchell moved the ultrasound machine closer to the bed and tilted the screen so Alison and Emily could see better.

"Okay," she started, moving the scanner around Alison's stomach once again, "here is your baby." Dr. Mitchell pointed to a little blip on the screen.

"Ali, look," Emily pointed.

"And everything's okay?" Ali asked.

"Yes, everything is fine," Dr. Mitchell answered, still with a smile on her face that said she knew more. She moved the scanner further upwards towards Alison's ribs and pointed to the screen again.

"And here," she started, "is baby number 2."

Ali and Emily immediately turned to each other then turned to the doctor.

"Baby number 2?" They asked in unison.

"Alison, Emily," Dr. Mitchell said, "you're having twins. Congratulations, mommies."

"Oh my, God," Emily said, shocked. That was the last thing she was expecting to hear today.

"Em," Ali said, reaching for Emily, "We're having twins. Oh my, God, we're having twins."

"I know!" Emily said, kissing Alison soundly, "I love you, I love you, I love you," she kept repeating with every kiss she pressed to Alison's lips.

"I love you," Alison said, moving to wipe the tears from both of their eyes.10 minutes later, they were walking out of the office, hand in hand, their ultrasound pictures tucked safely in Alison's purse. When they got to the car, they sat their silent for a minute, taking in everything. Then in unison, they turned to each other, smiles broke out on their faces and they started yelling for joy.

"We're having twins!" Emily kept repeating.

"I know," Alison said, pulling Emily towards her, kissing her deeply.

"I can't believe I'm finally getting to make a family with you," Emily said, when she pulled away, tears prickling her eyes again.

"You are a dream come true," Alison said, moving to wipe away a tear on Emily's cheek.

They drove home hand in hand, stealing kisses every so often at stop lights, unable to contain their excitement.

"We have to call your mom when we get home and tell her," Alison said, "she's going to be so excited."

"I know," Emily said, "I can't wait to tell everyone."

"Two little us's running around," Alison said, "I can't wait."

"Me either," Emily said, unable to wipe the grin off her face. She was having twins, and with the love of her life. Emily was getting everything she's ever wanted.

"I guess we're going to have to start buying two of everything now," Alison chuckled.

"We better go redo our registry," Emily said, shoving the hair from Alison's face when they were at the next stop light.

A few hours later, wrapped in each other's arms, the world was a blur around them. They still couldn't believe it. Emily quickly turned over and pulled Alison against her, drawing little patterns on her shoulder.

"I guess this explains why you're so huge," Emily spoke up, quickly darting out of the way of Alison's pillow.

With laughter all around them, in this world that they were creating, with all the love in the world, everything was perfect.


	7. Chapter 7

**_The Morning Of...  
_**

* * *

The house was quiet that morning, quieter than usual. Emily's mom had promised to take the girls for the night, she wanted to give the two young women a night all to themselves.

After a long night spent wrapped up in each others arms and a tangle of limbs, they slept as late as their now trained mommy-bodies would allow them to. Instead of being woken up by the sounds of their baby girls yelling to their moms to get out of their cribs, they were woken by birds chirping and the sun shining in through their bedroom windows. A soft yellow light illuminating the room and grazing over their bodies.

Ali was the first to wake up, immediately melting into the warm, strong arms that were wrapped tightly around her. Her eyes fluttered open to find Emily's face just mere inches from hers. Emily was still fast asleep, looking as peaceful and beautiful as Alison had ever seen her.

Of course, Emily woke up the second she felt Ali stir. Her eyes immediately shot up to find Ali's already staring right back.

"Good morning, gorgeous," Ali said, pulling Emily infinitely closer.

"Good morning, beautiful," Emily replied, reaching up to shove the hair from Ali's face.

They stayed like this for a moment, just taking each other in. Today, everything was going to change between them forever.

"We're getting married today," Ali said, a sheepish smile gracing her face. No matter how many times she had said it the past few months, she still couldn't believe it.

"I know," Emily said, a huge smile breaking out on her face, "but we are already breaking the biggest before wedding rule. Isn't it bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?" Emily asked, causing the both of them to chuckle.

All of those silly superstitions didn't matter to either of them, they had had their fair share of bad luck between them already.

"I've spent way too much time without you already, there isn't anything in this world that could get me to spend one more night without you," Ali said, tears prickling the edges of her eyes. She quickly leaned up on her elbows and pressed a soft, but lingering and sweet kiss to Emily's lips.

But she pulled away all too quickly, and immediately Emily knew something was on the blonde's mind.

"What's up?" she asked, rubbing Alison's free arm soothingly.

"Nothing," Ali said, immediately darting her eyes away, "butterflies is all."

Emily fixed her gaze on Alison, she knew her well enough by now to know that Alison would crack eventually. She always did.

"Are you sure you still wanna marry me?" Alison asked, and immediately Emily's heart broke.

"Do you not want to marry me?" Emily asked around the lump in her throat.

"No!" Alison said, immediately sitting up, "I mean, wait. That's not what I meant. Of course I want to marry you. I'm just asking if you still want to marry me," Alison paused for a moment, "after everything I've done."

Emily sat up, matching Alison. She quickly grabbed both of Alison's hands and held them in hers,

"Why are you asking me this?"

"Because I was awful. For so long, I was just awful. Awful to everyone and," Ali paused again, it was only now that Emily realized that Ali was crying, "I was _horrible_ to you. I was just so scared of everything, and I was scared of you because I loved you so much. And I just lashed out and I'm sorry. You didn't deserve any of that and I will never be able to apologize enough for all of that."

Emily pulled Alison towards her, "Why are you bringing all of this up? We've talked about all of this," Emily said as she pressed small kisses to Ali's forehead.

"Because everything changes today. And I don't think I could deal with having to walk away from you ever again."

"Ali, listen to me. I love you. And I always have, even when I didn't want to love you, you were always the one in the back of my mind, the one that I always wanted to be with. I have wanted to marry you since I was 13 years old. And now here I am, with you, building a life, raising the two beautiful girls that you gave me. And today I get to stand up and marry you in front of everyone we love. Do you honestly not think that that isn't all my dreams coming true?"

"How?" Ali asked, "How can you still look at me like I'm your world?"

"Because I don't know any other way how," Emily reached over and pressed a small kiss to Alison's lips.

"I'm sorry, for everything. For how I treated you, for how I made you feel, for running away when I needed you most, for waiting too long to let myself love you, for crying in our bed on the morning of our wedding."

A small laugh escaped both of their mouths.

"I know you're sorry for all of it. And that makes me love you even more. I have spent so much time waiting for us, and loving you for every second of it. _Nothing_ is going to keep me from spending the

rest of my life with you."

"Thank you," Ali said.

"For what, babe?"

"For forgiving me. For giving me all the time that I needed to figure myself out. And for still being here with open arms when I was ready. For trusting me. For letting me love you like you deserve to be loved. And for letting me wake up wrapped up in your arms every morning."

"Thank you for making all my dreams come true."

They stayed silent for another moment before Emily spoke up again, "But Ali, you need to forgive yourself. I know that everything you did was because you were scared, of what you were feeling, of finally letting someone in, of letting down your walls._ I _know you did it all because you thought I deserved better than you. But you are all I want, so I want you to forgive yourself. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," Ali whispered, her voice thick with tears.

"Good, because you're my soulmate. And there is no way in hell I'm letting you leave me ever again."

"I wouldn't survive it if I did," Ali said, tucking a chunk of Emily's hair behind her ear.

"Me either," Emily kissed Alison once more. As upset as she was that Ali was upset by bringing all of this up again, she knew it needed to happen. With all of this out in the open, they were truly ready to spend the rest of their lives together.

"Can we go get married now?" Alison asked, a small laugh escaping her lips.

"Yes, please," Emily said, standing up and making her way to Alison's side of the bed. She quickly grabbed Alison's hands and pulled her to stand up. "But," Emily said, walking backwards towards the bathroom, "I think we need to get cleaned up first."

"I agree," Ali said, the both of them running into the bathroom, sharing kisses and laughter filling the air around them.

And it was in that moment that they knew, they were going to be just fine.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Baby Wayne Gets Sick for the First Time**_

* * *

The morning started like any other. Just as Emily and Alison were waking up, their twins came pounding in, jumping up and down on the bed like any other morning. And just like every morning, Emily threw the twins over her shoulders and brought them downstairs as Ali went to go get their baby boy Wayne.

But to Alison's surprise, her son wasn't standing up in his crib with open arms like he usually was. Instead, he was still laying down, quietly sucking his thumb.

"Hi sweetheart," Alison said, careful not to scare him, "it's time to get up."

When he still didn't stand up Alison started to get worried. She quickly made her way over to his crib and leaned over to pick him up.

"What's wrong, honey?" Alison asked, when he immediately pressed his face into her neck. She walked him over to his changing table and reached for a clean onesie. As she began to change him, she noticed how warm he actually was. She scooped him back up and quickly walked him downstairs.

When she reached the landing, she found Emily and the two girls already eating their breakfast, a plate and a bottle waiting for Alison and Wayne like every morning.

"Hey babe," Alison called, "come here."

Emily quickly stood up and walked over to where Alison was standing in the doorway of their dining room. "What's up?" she asked, pressing a quick kiss to her wife's lips.

"Does he feel warm to you?" Alison asked, gently rocking Wayne back and forth.

Emily's face quickly fell, worry written all over. She pressed her lips to his forehead for a moment, "Yeah, he's burning up. What's wrong, buddy?"

"I don't know, he was still laying down when I went to get him. Are the girls okay?" Ali asked.

"Yeah, they're fine. Maybe we should-" Emily started.

"Keep him away from them? Yeah I agree," Alison finished, "I'm gonna bring him back upstairs."

"Okay, I'll finish getting them ready for school."

"Okay," Ali said, "I'm gonna run him a warm bath, see if I can get him to cool down."

"Good idea," Emily asked, pressing a quick kiss to her son's head before returning to the girls.

20 minutes later, Alison was still in the bathroom with Wayne. Even with all his favorite toys in the bath, he didn't seem to be feeling any better and Alison was minutes away from going into mommy-overdrive.

"How's he feeling?" Alison heard coming from behind her. She quickly turned around to find Emily leaning up against the doorway of the bathroom.

"I don't know, I think he's getting worse," Ali said.

Emily pushed off the doorway and walked over to where Alison was sitting on the edge of the tub and began to rub her shoulders. She knew Alison always got extremely worried whenever any of the kids got sick. The first time the twins came down with a cold, Emily had to hide the car keys because she caught Alison trying to drive them to the emergency room.

"Maybe we should call the pediatrician," Alison offered.

"Already did. We have an appointment in a little over an hour," Emily said.

"Okay, good. Where are the girls?" Alison asked, turning to look up at Emily.

"They're downstairs. I called my mom, she's gonna come pick them up and bring them to school. They're also going to stay the night at her house tonight, we don't need them getting sick too."

"Thank you," Alison said, leaning down to pick Wayne up from the tub. Emily was waiting nearby to wrap him in a too-big towel.

"I also called us both out of work for today," Emily said, wrapping her arms around both her wife and son.

"What would I do without you?" Ali asked, pressing a soft kiss to her wife's lips.

"You'll never have to find out," Emily said, reaching for Wayne, "Come on bud, let's go get you into some comfy clothes."

An hour later, they were sat in an examination room at the kids' pediatrician, waiting (kind of) patiently for the doctor to come in. Alison held tightly onto Wayne, she tried to maintain a calm facade but Emily could tell that Alison was practically bouncing off the walls.

"Come here," Emily said, opening her arms to her wife.

Ali was thankful for the welcoming arms that wrapped around her, "I know I'm being ridiculous," she said.

"You're not being ridiculous. You're a concerned mom who's worried about her kid. It's one of the things that makes me fall in love with you all over again each and everyday."

"Really?" Alison asked, tears prickling the edges of her eyes. Emily always knew the right thing to say.

"Yes," Emily said, "but falling in love with you is second nature to me. It doesn't take much."

"You're cute," Alison said, a goofy smile spreading on her face.

"I know," Emily said, pressing a kiss to Alison's forehead.

A few seconds later, they heard a knock at the door and their pediatrician walked in.

"Hi hi," she said brightly, "how are we doing in here? I hear we have a little boy who's not feeling all too well."

"Yeah," Emily said, taking Wayne from Alison's arms and laying him down on the examination table, "he woke up this morning with a fever and he's been lethargic all day."

"Okay, it's probably just a cold. But since it's his first it's probably going to hit him a little harder than it would you or me. Did you try anything to bring down his fever?" the doctor asked as she started feeling Wayne's forehead and back of the neck.

"Yeah," Alison spoke up, "I gave him a lukewarm bath this morning but it didn't seem to help."

"Okay, try again later on if his fever still doesn't break. I'm going to write you a prescription for some cough syrup which will help a lot. Give him a teaspoon of it every couple of hours."

"Okay," Emily said, picking Wayne back up, "anything else?"

"Let him sleep as much as he wants, he'll sleep most of it off. And obviously lots of cuddles, they can cure almost anything," the doctor said smiling at the moms. "Are the girls feeling okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, they're fine. They're staying at my mom's tonight just in case," Emily answered.

"Good idea," the doctor said, turning to write up the prescription on a nearby pad.

"So he'll be okay?" Ali asked, still nervous.

"He'll be just fine," the doctor said, handing Alison the prescription, pausing to give her arm a reassuring squeeze on her way out.

A few moments later, Ali and Emily walked out of the doctors office, hand in hand, with Alison's free arm wrapped tightly around a sleepy Wayne.

"I hate when they get sick," Alison said buckling him into his car seat.

"Me too," Emily said, starting the car, "but he'll be okay."

"I guess we better get a jumpstart on his prescription cuddles," Alison asked, a smile gracing her face.

"I gotta remember that the next time I get sick," Emily said, thankful when it made Alison laugh.

"Well, it is what the doctor ordered," Alison said, throwing a wink in Emily's direction.

The rest of the drive was quiet except for Wayne's soft giggles in the back letting them know he was already feeling better.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Emily's Birthday**_

* * *

Emily wished she could say that it was the sun shining in through her windows that morning that had woken her up. But in all reality, it was the fact that there were no longer any arms wrapped tightly around her, and the fact that the bed was now empty beside her.

Part of her thought she'd finally woken up from the prolonged dream that was the life she'd recently been living. A life that included her finally being happy, a life of her building a future with the love of her life and the woman who made everything in life worth it.

Part of her had always been expecting it, to wake up one day all alone. To realize that it had all been a figment of her imagination, a whole life she had dreams up one night when she went to bed. That she would wake up and everything that she'd always wanted would be just slightly out of reach again, close enough to always be there in her line of vision but far enough away that she'd never reach it.

It wasn't until she heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway leading to her bedroom did she tear herself away from what she thought was her true reality. And when she saw a familiar blonde walk through the door, did she finally start to breathe again. This was her reality.

"You're already up?" Alison asked, a slight annoyance in her voice, "God, I can't do anything to

surprise you."

"I woke up when you left the bed," Emily defended herself, her heart feeling lighter with every second that Ali was in her presence.

"Well, I wanted to get up early so that way I could wake you up and surprise you with breakfast in bed but clearly that plan is already out the window," Ali flopped down on the bed with a huff, placing the tray of food in between them.

"You don't have to surprise me with anything," Emily said, moving to grab one of Alison's hands in hers, checking to make sure she was still real, "You will always be the best present I'll ever get."

Ali couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face, "Happy birthday, beautiful," she said, leaning over to press a kiss to her girlfriend's lips. It was a sweet and short, but lingering kiss, filled with promises of more to come.

"Thank you, babe," Emily said, kissing Alison back. "So," she asked when she pulled away, "I heard something about breakfast."

Alison laughed as she reached over and fed Emily a bite of the pancakes that she had made. Alison had made Emily her favorite banana chocolate chip pancakes. And little did Alison know that this birthday breakfast would soon become a yearly tradition.

They spent the morning in bed, wrapped in each other's arms, sharing bites of breakfast between kisses. A few hours and many (many) celebrations later, their house was filled to the brim with all their friends and family who had gathered to celebrate Emily's birthday.

Alison had been planning this party for weeks, much to Emily's disapproval. If it was up to Emily, she'd just have takeout and a movie, but Alison had promised herself that, no matter what, she was always going to give Emily the best birthday she could. And to Alison, that meant that Emily should always be surrounded by the people she loves and who love her even more. And Emily would never admit it, but Alison was always right.

At half past 9pm, with the guests all pleasantly full from all the wonderful food that Alison had provided and all sharing in the same slight buzz of a few drinks in their system, Ali decided it was time to make toasts. Of course, she had Emily's mom go first, it was partly her day as well. Then came Hanna, Aria, and Spencer's toasts, which had all five the girls tearing up like they always did.

And before Alison knew it, it was her turn to get up in front of the small crowd and say her piece.

"Firstly," she started, "I wanted to thank you all for coming here tonight to help me in celebrating our beautiful Emily's birthday. I am so unbelievably thankful that she has all these amazing people around her at all times, who love and care for her unconditionally and in all the ways she deserves to be loved."

Alison paused briefly before continuing.

"I made a promise to myself a long time ago, that I would stop hiding. That I would stand up, and I would see myself for who I was. But I couldn't have done any of that, if it wasn't for the constant love and support of you, Emily. You have always loved me, even when I was at my absolute worst. And to this day, I still don't understand how you did. But I am thankful for it everyday because being able to wake up next to you everyday is a dream come true. You make me a better person everyday and a life without you is never one that I want to be apart of. So happy birthday, babe. I love you more than anything and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life loving you."

Emily made her way over to Alison and kissed her soundly, the world becoming a blur around them. She whispered "I love you" against Alison's lips as she kissed her once again.

Another few hours had passed and soon, the guests were starting to wean out. Emily was making her rounds and saying her goodbyes when Emily's mom, Pam had found Alison in the dining room

cleaning up some plates.

"Hi," Alison said brightly, "are you heading out too?"

"In a few minutes. Can I help you with anything, sweetie?" Pam asked.

"No, I'm okay. I think I'm just gonna leave these for tomorrow," Ali said, linking arms with Pam and escorting her to the front door.

"I just wanted to say thank you, Alison. For everything. This party tonight was beautiful."

"I just want to make sure she always knows how loved she is," Alison said, tears prickling the edges of her eyes.

"And it is because of that that I know you're the one for her."

"I promised you that I'll always be here for her. I'm not going anywhere."

"I know, and I couldn't have picked a better person to love her than you," Pam said as she enveloped Alison in a hug,

"Thank you," Alison said as she pulled away, "for giving her to me."

"It was my pleasure," Pam said as Emily came up behind her to say goodbye.

Another hour later, they'd made it to their bedroom, discarded clothes everywhere. They laid wrapped up in each other's arms, a comfortable silence around them.

"Thank you," Emily spoke up.

"For what?" Alison asked as she drew small patterns on Emily's shoulder.

"For being my wildest dream. And for making it come true."

Alison pulled Emily to her once more, the promises of a long and happy life all floating in the air around them.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Someone Isn't Too Happy About Ali Having Emily's Baby**_

* * *

"I'm going to need another drink," the pale brunette said, as she stood up and walked over to the bar.

"Paige," Emily called softly, she didn't know how Paige was going to respond to the news, but what was to come was far from what she was expecting.

"I can't believe that after all these years, we're in the same position we've always been. Ridiculous," Paige scoffed, taking another swig from her glass.

"-A knows what they're doing," Emily said, tears springing to her eyes.

"I wasn't talking about -A," Paige bit out, "I'm talking about Alison. Why is it that every single time we get close she always has a way of getting herself in between us?"

"Paige, she's pregnant. With my baby. You seriously can't think that she planned this," Emily said, appalled. Her head was spinning.

Paige didn't answer, she instead took another sip of her drink and continued to ignore Emily's eyes.

"You're being ridiculous," Emily bit out.

"How am I being ridiculous?" Paige asked, rather loudly than she should have.

"Lower your voice," Emily pleaded.

"I'm sorry," Paige apologized. She took a deep breath, "You're being put in a horrible situation and

I'm sorry. It just makes me so mad, that someone continues to hurt you for literally no reason."

Emily didn't say anything, she couldn't drag Paige into this any further than she already had.

A few moments later, Emily spoke up, "I know that this is the most insane situation in the universe. But that's my child that she's carrying, Paige. And you know that I've wanted to be a mom for forever."

"I do know," Paige said, reaching for one of Emily's hands.

"I have to do this. I want to be a mom."

"So be a mom," Paige said, "Em, let's be moms."

Emily broke out into a smile, "You'll do this with me?"

"Absolutely. That's all I've ever wanted since we were in high school."

Emily kissed Paige sweetly, her heart feeling lighter.

"Okay, I'll talk to Ali." Emily broke out into a huge smile.

"Yeah, and after she gives birth we can move back to California like we always said. God, Em could you imagine raising a baby in out there."

"Wait, wait, wait. We can't move back to California. What about Alison?"

"What about Alison?" Paige bit out.

"We can't just take the baby and run," Emily said.

"Why not? You said it yourself Em, it's your baby."

"That she's giving birth to! I can't just take the baby right from her arms. I won't do it."

"Why not? It's not like she's actually going to care about this baby anyway," Paige said, anger in her voice.

"Stop that. Stop acting like you know her. She's not that person anymore, Paige," Emily pleaded.

"When are you going to stop defending her, Em? She hurt you for so long."

"Because she was scared! Of everything. She was being targeted by -A before any of us knew how to open our lockers. It doesn't make it right but how can I hate her for it? Especially since she's carrying my child!" Emily almost screamed.

"A horrible person doesn't just stop being horrible," Paige said.

Emily didn't know what else to say. She couldn't just leave Alison, not after everything they've been through. She couldn't just rip that baby from Alison's arms. Just because the baby wouldn't biologically be Alison's doesn't mean that it isn't any less her child too.

"I'm not leaving her. I won't do it."

Paige took a breath and said something Emily definitely wasn't expecting, "It's me or Alison."

"Paige," Emily warned, "It's her child, too."

"It's me or her, Emily," Paige repeated, "it's time for you to finally choose."

"If you really loved me you wouldn't make me," Emily objected.

"And if you really loved me, there wouldn't be a choice to make," Paige argued.

"Why are you doing this? Are you really so worried that she's going to steal me from you or something?" Emily bit out.

"No," Paige said coldly, "because you were never mine to begin with. Em, you're the love of my life.

But all of this showed me that I was clearly never yours. It's always been Alison for you, and it always will be. I hope you're very happy with this life that you're choosing."

Paige quickly grabbed her things and left the Radley, ignoring all of Emily's calls after her.

A few minutes and many drinks later, Emily threw some money on the table and walked out the door,

hailing a cab and passing all the familiar landmarks that she knew all too well. And before she knew it, she stood outside the door that she walked in and out of for so many years of her life.

"Ali," Emily called out.

"Em?" Ali asked from somewhere in the house, "is that you?"

"Yeah, where are you?"

"In my room."

Seconds later, Emily walked through the doorway of Alison's bedroom, a little surprised when she found Alison was in her pjs, laying in bed. She stole a glance to the clock that hung on the wall and realized how late it truly was. It probably should have registered to her more how all the lights were

off when she walked in the house.

"You know what," Emily stared, "never mind. It's late, good night."

Emily started to walk out, but Alison quickly called after her.

"Emily! Get back here."

Emily could hear the concern in Alison's voice and she almost melted.

"What's going on?" Alison asked when Emily met here eyes once again. Alison tried her hardest to fight the ever growing worry that was in her stomach. She knew Emily was going out with Paige tonight and Emily busting in here didn't really do anything to calm her nerves. She already lost Charlotte this year, she couldn't lose Emily and the baby, too.

"No, it's nothing. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."

"Don't do that. Come on," Alison pleaded, "you clearly came here to say something."

Emily sat on the edge of Alison's bed and started playing with the treads on the bedspread.

Alison quickly sat up, "Did something happen with Paige?"

"You could say that. She didn't take so well to the situation," Emily admitted.

"What a surprise," Alison scoffed, "I'm sorry, Em. What happened?"

"She told me to choose. You or her."

"That's horrible. Why did she want you to choose?"

"Because I told her that I wasn't just going to take this baby and run to California with her. That you were just as apart of this as I am. And that I wasn't going to do that to you," Emily replied.

Alison remained quiet, she didn't know what to say. She knew Emily just needed to get it all out.

"But see, the thing that is eating at me is why? Why do I care so much about your role in all of this?

Why did I just let my girlfriend who has loved and cared about me for years just walk away because I wouldn't choose her over you? Why am I here right now instead of chasing after her? Why were you the first person on my mind after she left? And why are you always the only person I ever want to see and talk to after something happens?"

"Em," Ali tried to speak up but Emily wouldn't let her.

"Why is it that my goal for everyday is to make you smile? Why do I live every moment wondering when I'm going to see you next? Why is there this part of me that is thriving because you're having my child? Why do I want to wake up everyday in your arms and go downstairs and make breakfast for our kids? Why don't I hate you the way that I should?"

"I don't know, but you should hate me. At least as much as I hate myself," was all Alison could get out.

"But I can't! That's the problem. I can't hate you. Because after all these years, and all the shit you put me through," Emily paused, "I still love you."

Alison was stunned, she again couldn't find any words to say.

"Why, Ali? Why did you hurt me so much? Was it really because you didn't love me back?"

"No, Em. That wasn't it at all," Alison tried to defend.

"Then why?!" Emily shouted.

"Because I was scared!" Alison shouted back, "I was terrified. I had never felt anything like I did when I was with you, before. And I didn't know what to do! But what I did know was that I wasn't good for you. I would never be the person that you deserved. I would never be able to give you all the love and support that you deserved. And that killed me, but I had to make you move on. I couldn't live with myself if I had gotten all of you like I wanted so much and then for you to just leave me because you realized I wasn't and would never be enough! You deserved so much better than me, Em. And you still do."

"I'm not going to let you just talk your way out of this again. We're too old for this. Look me in the eyes, and tell me that you truly don't love me. And I'll leave it alone," Emily said, adrenaline pumping through her veins.

Alison paused, tears welling in her eyes. "You know I can't do that," she admitted.

"Then, please," Emily begged, "Just say it."

Ali quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks and grabbed both of Emily's hands in hers, "Emily, you are all that I have ever wanted in life, and I will never be able to apologize enough for all that I put you through and how much I hurt you. But I promise that from here on out, I'm going to live every day trying to make up for it. We've been put in a horrible situation but all I can think about is how much I want this, and how much I want to do this with you. Because this is all I've ever wanted, to build a life with you. And I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to say this, but I love you. I am so completely and utterly in love with you. I always have been, and I always will be."

Before Ali knew what was happening, Emily's lips were on hers. They kissed slowly and sweetly, but with a desperation behind it that broke both of their hearts. But they knew, here on out that they were in this, together. Forever each others.

"Can I stay here tonight?" Emily asked when she finally pulled away.

"You better," Alison said, immediately pulling Emily towards her once again.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Emily Punches Ali in Her Sleep**_

* * *

It was 3am. The house was dark, the streets were quiet, and the DiLaurentis-Fields family were all fast asleep in their beds. For the most of them, pleasant dreams ran through their heads. Most of them.

Ali had a faint memory of a vision of the small family of four on top of the Eiffel Tower, eating croissants. But the rest of that memory vanished quickly and was replaced by the searing pain of something striking her nose rather hardly.

She immediately sat up, her hands flying to the source of her pain. "Ow!" she yelped, louder than she expected to.

Emily's eyes shot open, the loud yell coming from her wife immediately woke her from her slumber. A small part of her was thankful for being woken up from her not so pleasant dream.

"Babe? What happened? Are you okay?" Emily asked, trying her best to wake herself up.

"I don't know, I feel like something hit me," Ali said, checking her hand for blood. Her eyes quickly glanced to where Emily's hand was laying, a fist clenched and just mere inches from where Ali's head was laying on her pillow.

Emily's eyes followed to where Ali's were staring and the realization set in.

"I think you punched me," Ali said, a chuckle escaping her.

Emily immediately sat up and wrapped her arms around Ali's waist. Guilt and worry were immediately overtaking her.

"Oh, my God. I'm so sorry, Ali. Let me look," Emily said, trying her best to hold back the tears in her eyes.

"I'm okay, Em. Really. Don't worry," Ali said, moving to press a small kiss to Emily's lips.

"I can't believe I punched you," Emily said around the lump in her throat.

"Really, babe, it's okay. Were you kickboxing with Muhammad Ali again?" Ali asked, moving to lay

back down.

"No, not tonight," Emily said. Her fingers immediately flew to her mouth and she began to bite her nails, a habit that only arises when she's nervous.

Ali, of course, immediately picked up on it.

"Hey," she said, sitting back up and grabbing Emily's hand, holding it in one of hers, "what is it? What did you dream about?"

"It's stupid," Emily said, straightening the covers, "we should go back to bed before the girls hear us."

"No," Ali said sternly, "we're not going to bed until you tell me what your dream was about, come on. It had to have been pretty scary for you to be reacting like this."

Emily remained quiet.

Ali reached up and placed her hand on Emily's cheek, "Talk to me, babe."

Emily took a deep breath, "It was -A again. There was another one, shocker. And I don't remember much but all I remember is that they threatened the girls and I came home to get you all out of here and -A was standing over you and you were screaming for help. And I was so scared cause I thought something was going to happen to all of you. And you and the girls are my life and I love you so much and I though I was going to lose you and-"

"Hey, hey" Ali cut her off. "I promise you, we are all okay. Emily, look at me," Ali waited for Emily's eyes to meet her, "We're all here, and we're healthy, and we're okay. And I promise you, nothing is going to happen to us. Baby, it's all over. Keep reminding yourself that."

Emily wrapped her arms around Ali, crying silent tears as Alison rubbed her back. When Ali felt Emily's breathing start to regulate, she slowly pulled away, but kept her arms wrapped around her wife.

"Come on," she said, moving to get up, "come with me."

"Where are we going?" Emily asked.

"Just come on," Ali said, holding her hand out for Emily to take.

They walked hand in hand down the hall, walking slowly as not to make any noise. They came up to the white door at the end of the hall, a wood "G" and "L" marking it.

Ali quietly pushed the door open and watched as Emily walked in. The moonlight that came in through the window cast a soft light on the two sleeping babies in their cribs. Ali, who was standing behind Emily, wrapped her arms around Emily's middle and pulled her close. She stood up on her tiptoes so she could rest her chin on Emily's shoulder.

"See," Ali whispered as she pressed a small kiss to the nape of Emily's neck, "we're all okay, like I promised."

Emily nodded and turned in Ali's arms. She leaned down to press a lingering kiss to Ali's sweet lips.

She reached for Alison's hand and led her back out the door and down the hallway.

Alison was right, they were all okay.

"Let's go back to bed," Emily said, a sweet smile on her face.

"Okay," Ali said, her eyes becoming heavy with sleep again, "as long as you don't punch me again."

"No promises," Emily said with a chuckle as she closed the door behind them.


	12. Chapter 12

_**The Twins' First Halloween**_

* * *

The day began before the majority of the family was even awake. Ali had gotten up at the crack of dawn to finish off the girls' costumes, the excitement of their first Halloween refusing to let her sleep any longer.

This was how Emily had found her a few hours later, doubled over the sewing machine, rings of coffee all on the dining room table, and a crease in Alison's brow that meant she was concentrating.

Emily proceeded with caution as best not to scare her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around Alison's shoulders and pressing a sweet kiss to Alison's head. She tried her hardest not to choke on the sequins that had somehow got caught in Alison's hair.

"You know," Emily started, taking a sip of coffee from Alison's mug, "We really could have just bought their first costumes."

"No way," Alison replied, "I always promised myself that I'd make my kids' first costumes. Just like my mom did for me and Jason."

"I know but you've been running yourself ragged all week," Emily said, gently moving the hair from Alison's eyes. She took the seat next to Ali at the table, "It's not like they're really going to remember."

Alison's movements stopped immediately and her tired eyes looked up to meet Emily's, "But we will, Em."

Emily didn't say anything more, she knew that this was really important to Alison. And that was all that mattered. So instead, she pressed a kiss to Alison's lips, grabbed some thread and a needle and began sewing.

Just a few hours later, the costumes were finished, and the small family of four made their way to

Grace and Lily's daycare where there was going to be a small party for all the kids.

Alison reveled in the fact that her girls we're the best dressed witches there. Halloween was always Alison's favorite holiday, and by how happy Grace and Lily were, she knew that it would be theirs,

too.

Once the party was over, and the compliments of how cute the girls were had Emily and Alison's egos filled to the brim, they made their way over to Pam's for the whole family to go trick or treating.

"Look at how cute my girls look!" Emily and Alison heard Pam yell the second they stepped out of the car.

Pam swooped up Grace in her arms and kissed her cheek, of course, moving to where Lily was falling asleep against Emily's shoulder and doing the same.

"Yeah, they're just a bit tuckered out," Ali said, as Pam kissed her cheek in a hello.

"That's okay. They can nap inside. They look fantastic Alison, you really outdid yourself," Pam said, moving the party inside.

"Thank you," she said, blinking the tears from her eyes, "that means a lot."

Emily couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face. She stopped in the doorway of her childhood home and turned around, planting a sweet but lingering kiss on Alison's lips.

"What was that for?" Alison asked.

"Because I love you," Emily replied, the infamous goofy smile making an appearance.

"Sap," Alison said, a small giggle escaping her lips.

An hour and a full nap later, the family made their way through the town of Rosewood, knocking on every door and listening to all the families that had seen Alison and Emily grow up, fawn over Grace and Lily.

Somewhere along the way, Spencer, Hanna, Aria, along with all the boys, had met up with them.

Everyone taking turns bringing the girls up to another house.

"You were right," Emily said as her and Alison walked down the street, her arm wrapped tightly around Alison's waist.

"What about?"

"They may not remember this Halloween, but we definitely will. And it was perfect. You are perfect," Emily stopped in her tracks, pulling Alison against her.

"I've always wanted to be perfect for you," Alison said, leaning up on her tiptoes to press her lips against Emily's. Her heart fluttered as she felt Emily smile against her lips.

"Hey lovebirds," they heard being yelled down the street. They broke away and saw Hanna and Spencer walking towards them, each with a baby in their arms. The rest of the clan was not far behind.

"Hanna, do you always have to ruin a moment?" Emily asked, a small laugh escaping her lips as she saw Hanna's offended face.

"It's what I do best," Hanna defended, "Come on, family picture. The whole family."

And one by one, the entire group gathered together as a passing stranger took snapped a bunch of pictures on Hanna's phone, pictures that would be apart of many scrapbooks for years to come.

"Okay," Aria said, "how about one of Ali and Em with the girls?"

So Ali and Emily quickly posed in the street, a baby on each of their hips and their arms wrapped tightly around each other. After a hundred shots on each phone, Emily thought of something.

"Hey," she said to Alison, "How come you didn't get a costume?"

"Oh," Alison said, her eyes becoming dark and a soft blush coming to her cheeks, "I have a costume.

I'm just saving it for later."

Emily's eyes grew wider and she quickly leaned down and captured Alison's lips in hers. And it was the picture from that exact moment, that was always their favorite from that night. One they'd recreate again and again for many years to come.

_Happy Halloween!_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Wedding Vows**_

* * *

The day was finally here. The venue was decorated, the food was prepared, the guests were flown in from all different corners of the country. Before everyone knew it, it was just minutes before the ceremony and no one could wait. The butterflies that fluttered throughout both Emily and Alison's stomachs made them both feel like they would start flying away any moment.

Everyone watched fondly as Grace and Lily walked down the aisle, tossing their flowers with the elegance of two little princesses. But that didn't stop them from throwing their last handful at each other. They took their seats in the first row closest to the aisle, like their mommies told them to.

Next came, Aria, looking gorgeous as always, the navy blue dress she had chosen complimented her skin perfectly. She smiled at everyone she saw, and took her place at the head of the aisle.

After that came Spencer, her blue toned grey dress made her brunette hair really standout, especially the subtle blonde highlights that were added in a few days ago. She threw a smile at Aria and walked with elegance to the front. Taking her stance on the right side, a few steps down from where Aria was.

Then came Hanna, her matching blue toned grey dress made her tanned skin and blonde hair look perfect. The dress matched the color of her eyes to a T. She held back tears as she walked down the aisle and took her place on the left side, mirroring Spencer.

A few moments later, everyone rose as the music changed to something slower. Everyone turned around to spot a goddess looking brunette, in a lace white dress walking towards them. Her train seemed to run for a mile, and the slim cut of the dress hugged every inch of her perfectly. Everyone's breaths caught in their throat as Emily made her way down the aisle, looking happier than anyone had ever seen her. She quickly pressed kisses to both Lily and Grace's heads before taking her place next to Hanna.

There wasn't a dry eye in the house by the time Alison walked out. Everyone quickly wiped at their eyes and turned their attention to the stunning vision that was before them. Alison's princess style dress made her look like a dream, it fit every inch of her, and the beading around the sweetheart neckline and bodice, was just pure perfection.

When Emily had caught a glimpse of her, she felt a tear roll down her face. She had never seen something so beautiful and so perfect in her whole life the feeling was completely indescribable. All of her dreams were coming true.

When Alison had finally locked her eyes on Emily, it was like the world stopped. She couldn't help but get emotional when she saw Emily in that dress, realizing that she looked just like a mermaid, her mermaid. Emily truly took her breath away and she couldn't help the ridiculous smile that was on her face.

Alison quickly blew kisses to her baby girls and took her place in front of Spencer, handing her her bouquet and reaching for Emily's hands.

"You look beautiful," Emily said, her smile widening with every second she looked at Alison.

"And you look breathtaking," Alison said, giving Emily's hands a squeeze.

As everyone took their seats and the crowd began to quiet down, Aria quickly blinked the tears from her eyes and began the ceremony she'd known everyone had been waiting years for.

"Firstly, I want to welcome everyone here today. I want to thank everyone who has come from near and far to help me celebrate the marriage of two of the most amazing people I've ever known. Before we start the ceremony, I just want to say a few things to the two beautiful brides. Ali, Emily, I have had the absolute pleasure and honor of being able to watch you two fall in love with each other again and again everyday for the past 10 years, even though neither of you wanted to admit it."

The crowd all let out a laugh in unison, as well as the two brides. Aria continued, "I know that it was far from easy for the both of you and you two have gone through things that are completely unimaginable. But somehow, you defied all the odds and you made it through. And I know that the love that you two share right now, is stronger than it has ever been and that love will only continue to grow. You both traveled a long road to get here, and on behalf of myself, Spencer and Hanna, we are so unbelievably happy and proud of the both of you and we can't wait to see where your lives take you and your beautiful family."

Alison and Emily quickly stole a glance to their two girls who were watching the whole thing intently.

"The brides have decided to write their own vows for today's ceremony. Not that we really gave them any choice."

The crowd laughed again.

"Emily, would you like to go first?" Aria asked.

Emily nodded and turned to around to Hanna. Hanna handed Emily her vows and Emily's stomach began doing summersaults.

Emily took a deep breath and began reading the words that were straight from the heart, "Never in a million years did I think we'd be here. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I'd actually be standing up here, in front of everyone we love, marrying the girl of my dreams and the love of my life. Never did I think that I'd be able to look over at the two beautiful little girls that you gave me, which I think are the best things we've ever done. If you had told me 10 years ago that this is where we would be, I probably would have laughed in your face because this was something I could have only dreamed about. The journey for us has already been long, and far from easy and painless, but it is because of our journey that I know we can get through anything life throws at us. Because as long as I have you and our girls, my life is perfect. I love you more than life itself, and I promise to continue to love you, to cherish you, to support you, and to always do the most ridiculous things I can think of to make you laugh for the rest of my life. Thank you for making all of my dreams come true, and for being a new dream that I want to achieve every single day."

Emily turned around once more and retrieved the silver wedding band that she had engraved with the word "forever" on the inside from Hanna. She turned back to her beautiful bride and slid it on her ring finger. Suddenly, everything finally felt real.

"Okay, Ali," Aria said, her voice thick with tears, "It's your turn."

Ali wiped the tears that were quietly running down her cheeks and turned to Spencer for her vows, "Well, first off, thank you for being the absolute hardest act to follow."

The crowd let out a laugher once again.

"Somehow, someway, when I was at my absolute worst and the whole world was rightfully against me, you loved me through all of it. And it is because of you, that I am at my best. I am a better person everyday because of you. You always seem to talk of me like I saved you, but in reality, Emily, you saved me and you continue to save me again and again each and everyday. You've shown me what is truly means to love and to be loved, you showed me that it's something to run towards and not run from. Through your incredible strength, you showed me how to be strong. You make me brave and make me feel as though I can conquer the world. You've always been the one to show me the light in an impossibly dark situation, because _you_ are my light. You make every day worth living and you make every hardship there is worth it. From this day on, I promise to love you and to cherish you in all the ways you deserve. I promise stand by you through everything in life, I promise to never hide myself from you, I promise to lift you up whenever you're feeling down like you've been doing for me for more years than I can count. Thank you for building a life and a family with me. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and that will never change. I love you more than any of these words will truly convey, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

Ali, with tears running down her cheeks, slid the ring, which she had engraved "happy endings" on the inside, onto Emily's ring finger. She pressed a gently kiss to Emily's hand.

Aria tried her hardest to hold back her tears, but when she glanced at Hanna and Spencer and saw the tears running down their faces, she knew she didn't stand a chance.

"What all of you have witnessed here today is _true_ love. The kind of love that people write fairy tales and movies about. The kind of love that most people don't think is achievable. The kind of love that comes from two people who were truly put on this earth for each other and each other only. Emily, Ali, thank you both so much for trusting me to do this, it meant the world to me and I love you both so much. So by the power invested in me, it is my absolute pleasure to pronounce these beautiful women as wives."

Aria turned towards Emily and gave her a quick smirk, "Emily, go get your girl."

"Gladly," Emily said, reveling in the giggle that came from Alison. Emily quickly reached for Alison and pulled her close, capturing her lips at once. The cheering crowd became white noise all around them, the only thing present in their little world was the two of them.

Once they came back down to Earth, they turned towards the crowd. The cheers and screams coming from all of their loved ones sending their already excited spirits through the roof.

Hand in hand they walked down the steps, reaching where their two little girls sat. They had smiles on their faces that made Emily and Alison's hearts soar. They quickly picked up their two little girls and walked hand in hand down the aisle, and into the rest of their lives together.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Emily Goes Ring Shopping**_

* * *

Emily was onto her third jewelry store of the morning, and with the pass of each minute, she was getting more and more discouraged. Hanna had already been begging her for an hour to just give it up and pick something, that they were all beautiful, but Emily wasn't going to give up until she found it.

But there was part of Emily that was convinced that she never would.

"Em, come on," Hanna pleaded, "we've looked at so many, they're all starting to blur. There has to be something here that you think she's going to like."

"It's not about liking it, Hanna, I want her to love it," Emily said, bending over the glass case.

"Em," Hanna said, putting her hand on Emily shoulder, "she's so in love with you that she's going to love anything you give her. Stop putting so much pressure on it, or else you'll never find anything you like."

"I know," Emily sighed, running her hands frustratedly through her hair, "I just love her so much, I just want to find 'the ring.' I want to find one that's going to make her jaw drop. I want one that she's going to look at everyday and just realize how in love with her I am. And I'm not going to stop until I find that ring, Han."

"Does this also have anything to do with that guy at Lucky Leon's who keeps flirting with Ali whenever she goes in?" Hanna asked, trying to suppress a laugh.

"No," Emily tried to convince, "yes. Okay, yes, it does. I want everyone to that she's off the market, she's taken for forever and she's mine. And I want a ring that's going to tell everyone, and her, that I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay," Hanna resolved. "Let's look at this case again," she said, pointing to a case by the wall, "I think there were some really nice one's in here."

"No, Hanna, you're right. Maybe I should just give up for today, I'm never going to find it."

And just as Emily finished her sentence, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. The smile on her face when she saw the caller was right out of a RomCom.

"Hey, you," she said brightly into the phone.

_"Hi, beautiful," Ali said, "How's shopping with Hanna?"_

"It's going," Emily said, the sound of Alison's voice sending a warming feeling through her.

_"Is she dragging you to every store under the sun?" Alison laughed._

"Of course, she is," Emily lied.

_"Surprise, surprise," Alison laughed again, "When are you coming home, babe? We miss you."_

Just as the words hit Emily's ear, something caught her eye. She quickly waved over the sales associate and had them grab the ring. Emily held it in her fingers, the princess cut diamond was the perfect size, the smaller diamonds that framed the jewel beautiful. But it was the way that the rest of the band had small cutouts in it that had caught Emily's eye. When she turned the ring upside down and looked at the design of the band, did she see it.

_"The Eiffel Tower," Emily thought to herself._

The perfect ring.

"Sooner than you think," Emily answered.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Pregnant During the Holidays**_

* * *

Alison didn't know what she hated more, the fact that she was on strict bedrest for 18 hours a day, or that she couldn't help Emily decorate for Christmas. She had never been all that fond of the holiday herself, she didn't have the most pleasant memories of it from her childhood. But she knew that it was Emily's absolute favorite and it would be their first Christmas together, and it was killing her that they weren't making the memories of putting up their first tree or decorating the house together.

She'd tried everything she could think of to get Emily to let her help, but the brunette wouldn't hear anything of it. She'd simply just give her girlfriend a kiss on the lips, shove her towards the nearest couch or bed, and resume whatever task she was working on at that moment. And even though it was sweet that Emily wanted to take care of Alison, it was driving Alison absolutely fucking insane.

Alison had all these visions running through her head. Of them putting up the lights on the house, picking out a too big tree, seeing the mix of their childhood and favorite ornaments hung up, hanging mistletoe in all the doorways, baking those Pillsbury Christmas sugar cookies, wearing insane Christmas sweaters and being snuggled up on the couch watching all the classics.

And her visions certainly didn't include being cooped up on a couch while her girlfriend did all the work.

The idea of her first Christmas spent with Emily was something that she'd dreamed about for years, something she never thought she'd have. And now, here she was, 7 months pregnant with twins, on bedrest for the majority of the day, and on top of it, she couldn't even stand long enough to at least take pictures of all their firsts without having to pee every 15 minutes.

But she tried not complaining, or looking too heartbroken whenever she'd see that Emily had half the house decorated by the time she'd woken up in the morning. She knew that this made Emily happy, and even though she couldn't be apart of it, she knew that there were decades of more Christmases and firsts to come.

So she stopped trying to help as much, she didn't protest when Emily would utter "Bedrest" to her, and she would plaster the most convincing smile on her face that she could when she saw Emily bringing boxes and boxes down from their attic.

But just as Ali was starting to come to terms with the situation, she heard a loud bang come from their stairway.

"Babe?" Alison called out, her heart skipping a beat when she didn't get an immediate response.

"Shit," was all she heard. Before she knew it, Alison was out of bed and moving as quickly as her giant stomach would allow her to where the noise came from.

"Em?" she called out, her voice dripping with fear and worry. "Emily?" she yelled louder.

"I'm over here," she heard Emily respond, her voice sounding pained.

"Oh my, God. Em," Ali said when she found Emily, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm okay," Emily said, not that all convincingly. She couldn't help but wince at the searing pain coming from her left foot.

"What happened? What hurts?"

"It's my foot," Emily said, reaching to help Ali remove the boxes that were on top of her foot, "I was carrying down some boxes and I missed a step."

"Jesus, Em. Why didn't you just ask for help?" Ali said, anger threatening her voice.

"Because, Ali. You're on bedrest, you're not even supposed to be lifting anything, you really think I was going to ask you to carry boxes of decorations down two flights of stairs?" Emily argued back. Wincing again as she tried to get up.

"Come on," Ali said, throwing Emily's arm around her shoulders, "We have to get you to the couch and elevate your foot."

"No way," Emily said, removing her arm from Ali's grasp, "I'll get up myself."

To which, of course, Emily's attempts failed. Ali sighed and took Emily's arm again.

"Lean on your other foot to push up, just use me for balance," Ali said, swiftly getting Emily on her feet and crossing her to the couch.

A few minutes later, Ali returned with pillows, carefully placing Emily's foot on top and wrapping it with ice.

"I don't think it's broken," Ali said, "it would have started swelling by now. I think you just twisted your ankle. Just relax, now."

"What about the boxes? I can't just leave them there, what if I broke something?" Emily said, trying and failing, again, to get up.

"Would you forget about the boxes?" Ali said, "They're not going anywhere. You need to relax. You've been running around like an insane person for weeks, and I'd really like to not have my girlfriend in a full body cast for our first Christmas together."

Emily could hear the angry tone in Ali's voice, she knew that not being able to help had been hard on Alison. And maybe she should have been more sensitive about it.

"I just wanted everything to be perfect," Emily said, her voice small.

"And I just wanted to enjoy this with you," Alison said, tearing her gaze away.

"I'm sorry. It's just-I waited so long to get to do this with you. I never thought that I'd be able to be with you, let alone celebrating our first Christmas together. And you're carrying our babies and I just wanted it all to be so special and magical, like Christmas should be."

"Em," Ali said, grabbing Emily's hand, "I'm spending it with you, it already is special. We both waited so long to be in this place with each other, I want to cherish it. I want to remember it. I want all the stupid little first Christmas memories."

"And I guess I kind of took all those away by just doing it myself. I'm sorry, Ali. I really am."

"I know," Ali said, "You were just worried about me and the babies. You wanted to protect us, and that's one of the things I love most about you."

"I love you, too," Emily said, leaning over to plant a sweet kiss on Alison's lips.

"Promise me you'll slow down," Ali said as she pulled away, "I want to cherish every minute of this."

"I promise. On one condition though," Emily said, rubbing her thumb across the back of Alison's hand.

"What's that?"

"You go get your camera and take pictures of everything. I want to remember every minute of this. Starting with me all propped up on the couch with a twisted ankle," Emily said with a laugh.

"I can't wait to tell the kids about this one day," Ali said, joining Emily in her laughter.

"It'll be our first Christmas story," Emily said, posing quickly as Alison snapped some photos.

"And certainly not our last," Ali said, bending to kiss Emily once again.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Beacon Heights & the Divorce Papers**_

* * *

It had been a long day. Too long of a day. Her students had given her a hard time about their grades, which were absolutely deserved. Exams were coming up. She would be having her TA evaluation soon and her nerves were utterly shot.

And on top of it, she missed her girls. More than anything.

It had been a few days since she'd talked to them. With everything going on at BHU and the cops circling every hour on the hour, she thought it best to keep a little bit of distance. It was easier that way, she could keep them safe.

But it had quieted down for the evening, all the cops had returned to the station for the evening and the majority of the students were holed up in their dorms cramming for exams. It had just turned 3am and Alison knew that her time was now.

She climbed up on her desk chair and unplugged the Beacon Guard from the wall. She then reached into her purse and grabbed the small metal contraption that Mona had faceted for her. Mona swore it would work, but it was the first time that Alison would be using it, and she admitted to no one in particular that she was nervous. The contraption was supposed to disrupt any frequencies that may or may not be listening in on Alison's apartment. Each and every day Alison was more and more convinced that every inch of this campus was bugged, her apartment being absolutely no exception.

She searched for the small switch on the side and flicked it on. And just as Mona instructed, she counted to 15. That was supposed to be enough of a grace period for the little machine in Alison's hands to work and transmit a faulty audio to whoever may be listening.

God did she hope this would work. She didn't know if she could handle another day without hearing her favorite voices.

She quickly climbed on her couch and got herself comfortable, her favorite blanket from home wrapped tightly around her. She grabbed her phone and dialed the number she knew by heart. She glanced at the clock on her wall. Just past 3:30. 6:30 back in Rosewood. She pressed the call button and, rather impatiently, awaited someone to answer.

"Well, you're up late," said a warm voice on the other end of the phone. Alison smiled to herself, that voice always brought her back, grounded her, made her feel right at home no matter how far she might have strayed.

"Well, I had to be sure that I wouldn't be interrupted," Alison said, letting herself smile like an utter idiot at the sound of her favorite person's voice.

"Long day?"

"The longest. Especially because I didn't talk to you," Alison said, her mood slightly dampened again.

"Your rules. Remember?" reminding Alison of the rules she had set in place a few days earlier.

"I know, but still. I just hate going all day without hearing from you," Alison said, trying to bat away the tears from her eyes.

"That makes two of us," the voice said, rather short.

"You're still mad at me, aren't you?" Alison asked, her voice small and quiet.

She heard a deep breath being taken from the other side of the phone.

"No."

"Liar," Alison said, chuckling slightly.

"Well, maybe a little," the voice joined in the laughter.

"I'm sorry," Alison said, "I really am."

"I know. I know. I just wish it didn't have to be this way."

"It won't be for much longer. I promise," Alison said. She was a little worried when there was no response on the other side.

"Do you hear me? Emily, I promise you, this is all for show. All of this. I had to draft up the papers. I had to make it look like you were out of the picture. I had to make sure that I threw everyone off. I couldn't stomach if you were dragged into this." Alison said.

"And you think I can? Ali, I have to stop myself every day from buying a plane ticket and getting you the hell out of there!" Emily exclaimed.

"I know, Em. Believe me, I do know. This isn't easy for me either. But I have to keep you safe. You and the girls. That is the only thing getting me through this every day. You three are the only thing that get me up out of bed in the morning. You've always been the one to protect me, but Em, now it's my turn to protect you. And I need you to be safe," Ali said, her voice thick with tears.

"I know," Emily said, in a quiet voice. They'd been having this conversation for days. And even though it was fake, the act of signing divorce papers made them both sick to their stomachs.

"I'm sorry," Ali said, "I'm sorry that I'm putting you through all of this. God, Em you deserve so much better than this. Than all of this."

"Stop that," Emily said, the urgency in her voice cutting right through to Alison, "Don't do that. Ali, I love you. I love you. Nothing is ever going to change that. No long distance marriage, no murder at some college and certainly not some fake divorce papers. You said it yourself, this is not forever. But we are."

"I love you," Alison said, wiping her tears with the back of her hand, "And I miss you."

"We miss you, too."

They fell into a normal conversation, discussing the days' activities and Emily filling Alison in on all the latest preschool drama. Moments like this were amongst some of her favorite things in the world. She wouldn't mind spending forever getting lost in the sound of Emily's voice.

"Ali?" Emily asked a few minutes later, breaking their comfortable silence.

"Yeah, babe?"

Emily took a deep breath before answering, "Just don't-don't do anything stupid, okay?"

Ali couldn't help the slight chuckle that escaped her, "Well babe, I think it's a little late for that."

"Well, don't do anything really stupid. I'd still like to have a wife after all of this is over, if you don't mind. Disregarding the divorce papers, of course."

Ali laughed again, she couldn't wait to be back home, laughing with all her girls again.

"Like I'd ever let anything keep me from coming home to you."

"How many more days?" Emily asked.

"Hold on," Ali said, sitting up and reaching for the little pocket calendar she kept on her at all times. It served more as a countdown than to keep track of her day to day activities. It was far more satisfying to physically cross off the days on this little pad than just watching the calendar on her phone.

"Just a little over 4 months left," Ali said, flicking through the pages.

"How many days?" Emily asked quietly.

Alison took a moment and counted. And counted again to make sure.

"125," she said.

"125," Emily repeated, "Goes quicker that way."

"It'll be here before we know it."

"I can't wait," Emily said.

"Hey," Alison said, waiting for Emily's attention to get focused back from where it inevitably ran off too.

"Hmm?"

"I love you," Alison said, "And nothing will change that. I chose you, and I will always choose you. You are my forever."

"And you are my always," Emily replied and Alison could hear the smile in her voice.

"125 days," Alison promised.

"125 days," Emily repeated.


	17. Chapter 17

**_Don't_**

* * *

The day started like any other. The blonde woke up to a too early alarm blaring in a too cold bed. It's so strange, the simple things in life that you miss when you no longer have them. Never did she think that she'd miss so wholeheartedly the warmth that another person gives. It's something so simple, but when it's gone, _boy_ does it make all the difference.

Alison peeled the covers off of her body and quickly shoved her feet into some nearby slippers. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she reached over and grabbed her glasses. She tried her hardest not to immediately reach for her phone from her nightstand table, she really did. But she couldn't help herself. She knew there would be nothing there, but she needed to check. If there was any possibility that a text or a missed phone call was waiting there for her, she didn't want to miss it.

And just as expected, when she turned over her phone, the screen was blank. No phone call, no text message. Not even an Instagram like. She didn't know how all this still suprised her, this had been her reality for weeks since moving to Beacon Heights. But yet, every morning when she woke up she was still stupidly hopeful. Hopeful that at one moment during the day, the person she missed most might just miss her too.

* * *

Another day, another complete silence. She didn't know why she was surprised. The only time she ever heard from Emily anymore was when the girls were ready to FaceTime. She couldn't believe her life was turning out this way. Another prime example of Ali having everything she could ever want in her life and the universe ripping it away from her without a moment's notice.

She had just gotten back home from teaching her class and she decided that a _hefty_ glass of wine was exactly what the doctor ordered. Screw the glass, it was a straight from the bottle kind of night. Just as she made herself comfortable on her couch and took a rather large slug from her bottle of red, she heard her phone ding from where it was on her coffee table.

She reached over and felt her heart start racing at the name that appeared on the screen.

_Emily_

Never did she think that a simple text from her wife would ensue such anxiety. She took a few deep breaths and another generous swig from the bottle in her hands before unlocking her phone and seeing what this was about. God, she _hated_ this.

**Emily: Hey. Are you busy?**

Her first thought was the girls. She had been so busy these past couple of days, did she miss something? The guilt started to bubble up in her chest immediately. As if she didn't already feel like a bad enough mother.

**Alison: No. I didn't miss a FaceTime with G & L did I?**

She nervously picked at the skin around her fingernails. A nervous tick she had had since she was a kid. She watched the typing bubbles pop up from Emily's side of the conversation.

**Emily: No! The girls are at my mom's tonight.**

A sense of relief washed over Alison immediately. But not before her anxiety bubbled back up again. If this wasn't about the girls, then what was this about?

She took another deep breath before replying again.

**Alison: Oh yeah, I thought so. What's up?**

Alison glanced over at her desk. The torn open in a rage manila envelope laid there mocking her. She closed her eyes and tried to steady herself, breathing through the tears that were stinging the corners of her eyes. She was pulled out by her phone vibrating on her lap.

**Emily: Just wanted to know if you could talk.**

Ali glanced at her desk once more. That's what this was about. She started typing out a reply, a jumble of words impacted by her rather large intake of wine in the passing hour. Just as she was ready to hit send, she felt her phone continiously vibrating in her hand. She was really this impatient, huh?

Ali took another deep breath before answering.

"Hey," she started, glad her voice wasn't as shaky as she thought it would be, "I was just typing back to you."

"I know, but-" Emily stopped herself. Alison could tell she was hesitating to say something. Made sense though, Emily wasn't always one for confrontation.

"But what?" Alison asked, maybe a little more bite in her tone than she intended.

"I just wanted to hear your voice," Emily said, her voice small.

Ali's head was spinning, and _not_ because of the copious amount of wine she had consumed.

"What?" she asked, pure conffusion in her voice.

"Did you sign the papers yet?" Emily blurted out.

"No," Alison replied. What was going on?

"Don't."

"Emily," Ali started, "What is going on?"

"I don't want to divorce you. I don't want to wake up in a world where I'm not married to you," was all Emily could get out.

"Says the person who sent _me_ divorce papers," Alison bit back.

"I was hurt. And confused!" Emily tried to defend herself, but Ali was having none of it.

"And this isn't?!" Ali yelled, this was not fair. Why was Emily doing this?

"No, absolutely. You're right. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have just called you like this. This isn't fair to you," Emily said, her voice small again.

Ali took another deep breath and tried to center herself.

It was quiet for a moment, Alison had no idea what to say.

"Em," Ali started, her voice was soft. She didn't want to fight anymore.

"You can still sign them. If you want," Emily said, the slightest crack in her voice that made tears spring immediately to Ali's eyes. She hated when Emily cried, more than anything.

"Look, Em, I know that I've hurt you. Believe me, I know. But right now, I need you to be honest with me. What do you want? Because one minute you're sending me divorce papers and wanting to figure out a custody arrangement for the kids and now you're calling me and telling me that you still want me as your wife? Em, enough. What are we doing here?"

Emily didn't answer right away, but when she did, it certainly was not what Alison was expecting to hear. But to be fair, she wasn't expecting any of this tonight.

"Did you know that your smile is my favorite thing about you? I know, out of all the things about you, that seems like a pretty basic one to pick. But it is. I don't know what it is about it but whenever I see it, everything else just goes away. My thoughts, my worries, my sadnesses, my fears. I could be worrying about everything under the sun and all I need to do is see you smile, and suddenly, that is all that matters about my life. Seeing you smile."

"Emily," Ali whispered, wiping at the tears falling down her face.

"I've been worried. About us, about the kids. But most of all, about if I'm making the right decisions here. I've been going back and forth about it for weeks, and I thought that sending you those papers would give me some clarity. I thought that when you sent them back, that everything would then feel right. But today, I was cleaning out my wallet and I found our photobooth pictures from when we took that weekend trip to Cape May a couple of years ago."

Ali couldn't help but smile reminiscing about the memories. She hated those photobooth pictures. She thought she looked awful in them, but for some reason, Emily loved them and she had carried them with her everywhere they went.

"Do you know why I love those pictures so much? Because you look so happy. And because I was the one who put that smile on your face. I found those pictures, and I looked at your big, bright, _beautiful_ smile and everything else just melted away. And it got me thinking, I could not imagine waking up in a world where I didn't get to see that smile every day of my life.

Ali didn't say anything again. She didn't know what to say, she was just so stunned.

"I need you, Ali. To make it through this life and this harsh world. I know that I've been awful. And for that no apology will suffice. But I am truly sorry. With everything in me, I am sorry. And I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me, and if you can't, I understand and I do not blame you."

Alison didn't answer for another minute. This was so much. But this was Emily. _This _was her Emily.

"The bed feels empty without you," was all she could get herself to say before the tears consumed her.

"God, Ali, I'm so so sorry," Emily said, hearing Alison's sobs, "I've been so awful and I've been pushing you away. And I've been ruining our family. I'm an awful person."

"You are not. Do you hear me?" Alison pulled herself together, "You are Emily Catherine DiLaurentis-Fields, you are the love of my life and you certainly are _not _an awful person. But Em, if we're going to do this, you have to stop telling me to run and then blaming me for it. I don't want to go anywhere. I want to spend my life with you, and that is it."

"I know. I know that, I do. I've lost you too many times in this life Alison, and I am not going to make it another one."

"Well, I must admit I like the sound of that," Alison said, a smile creeping up on her face.

"There's that smile. I can hear it in your voice."

Alison smiled wider.

"What do you say you and the girls come fly out here this weekend? You can see this smile in person."

"Booking the flights as we speak."


End file.
